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Book on Paris districts?

Does anyone know of a definitive book which discusses in detail the various neighborhoods in Paris (I can't spell the French word for them sorry!) I'm not looking for a guidebook exacly, but an in depth portrait which perhaps compares and contrasts and captures the unique essence of each? I haven't seen anything like this, and I think it would be great fun to have such a book in planning a trip to Paris next year.

Thirza Valois has at least two books that focus on the Parisian arrondissements. I don't know if between the two books they cover all 20 arrondisements, but it would be an excellent start. I'd bet you can find them on Amazon.com

Thirza Valois has 3 books, and indeed they do cover arrs. 1-20. I haven't finished even one yet, but they will certainly give you a lot of historical information that will help any Paris visitor better appreciate their surroundings.

Those books may be as close as one can get to the description 'dabodin' is giving. I don't know about the "compare and contrast" component - I think the it may be up to the reader to do that.

Dabodin, I'd also suggest taking a look at Thirza Vallois' trilogy, "Around and About Paris." Vol One covers the 1st - 7th arrondissement; Vol Two the 8th - 12th, and Vol Three the 13th - 20th. For each arrondissement, the author first describes its history and then walks you through several neighborhoods - maps included. I've used them all the volumes and like them very much, but if you're not interested in historical detail, they may be more than you need. You can often find the series in bookstores, so I'd recommend you take a look at them before buying.

If they're more than what you want, look for an English language Routard Paris. It's a guide book with a chapter on each arrondissement and might be a good fit. Paris the Rough Guide also has good neighborhood descriptions.

Thank you all very much for your helpful suggestions. I couldn't find Thirza Valois on Amazon, but will keep looking elsewhere. Her books do sound like what I'm looking for. I'm a big fan of the Rough Guides, so that also sounds very good. Thanks again.

Hi dabodin,
Rough Guides is a good idea. I used their Paris guide on my trip 3 months ago, it certainly helped me in exploring parts of the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th and 20th. It has little "notable buildings" boxes for some areas - it was fascinating to discover as many of them as I could.

I like some of the info you can get online for free -- such as jack-travel.com which I think is an excellent web site. The Thirza Vallois books are pretty detailed and were a little dry for me, but thorough. She has her own web site where you can order them or maybe even download them:

Can you read French? There is a French publisher who has detailed guidebooks to each arrondisement called "Guide du Promeneur". They are on sale in the main bookstores in Paris (FNAC, etc) and usually the local one will be at a local news kiosk or newstand.